Midnight Encounters
by Vagabond-Brown
Summary: Chapter 7 up! ROMY! Rogue's still recovering from her kidnap by Trask, and she's hiding things. A certain demon-eyed charmer seems willing to help, but he has secrets of his own...
1. Waking

Disclaimer, for this and any following chapters: Now, this may come as a huge surprise to all those X-Men fans out there, but I do not, in fact, own the X-Men (unfortunately). Marvel, however, does. Ok?

Just your regular post DOR Rogue/Remy fic. This is my first fic ever, so you'll have to forgive sloppy writing, non-existant spelling and grammar, and the accents in general. I haven't written anything in ages so I'm really rusty, but getting a bit better. If you think this fic is bad you should have read the first draft, I seemed unable to construct sentences of more that 6 words. Anyway, please review if you want me to continue and/or if you want to flame me, I don't care!

Midnight Encounters

Chapter 1

Rogue shifted under the covers of her bed. There was an irritating sound, loud and persistent, pulling her out of the warm confines of sleep. She sighed heavily, if it wasn't going to go away on it's own, then she would have to do something about it, because apparently there was no way she was going to go back to sleep if she didn't shut it up. Frowning sleepily, she tried to concentrate on the sound. It was amazing, really, just how incredibly annoying it was, in fact she couldn't really think of anything more irritating. It was like, a series of beeps, and the gap between them was just long enough to make you think that maybe, _hopefully_, there wouldn't be another one. Then there was.

Another sigh, this time accompanied by grinding teeth, and she resigned herself to really waking up. Slowly, she opened her eyes, peering blearily in the general direction of the infuriating beeping. All sleepiness disappeared, however, as she found the source of the sound. Her eyes widened as she looked at it. A heart monitor. That was when she realised that she wasn't in her room anymore.

Fully awake now, Rogue lay very still as she surveyed her surroundings, tensed and alert for any possible threat. From her position she could see banks of monitors and other equipment and a small, wheeled table holding medical apparatus. Her breathing quickened and she felt adrenalin rushing through her veins as she realised what kind of room she had found herself in. _It's a lab, oh Gawd…_ Rogue's eyes frantically darted around the room, until she did a double-take on a shadowed door just in her line of sight. She held her breath as she studied it, a desperate hope filling her mind. It looked familiar somehow, wasn't that a faint 'X' across it, like the one in the medical lab? Her stomach tightened slightly as she studied the room again, and this time the equipment was familiar and reassuring; she was in the X-men's medical bay. She felt her body go weak with relief. It was amazing how shadows and perspective could change the appearance of a room so completely, making it seem foreign and threatening. Feeling stupid now, she shook her head, brushing off her recent fears. She had never been completely at home in hospitals or laboratories and her recent experiences at the hands of Trask had probably not helped either.

So, what the hell was she doing here? The last thing she could remember was talking to Kitty about her room mate joining the swim team, and then, nothing. Well, not nothing, she corrected herself. There had also been several seconds of excruciating pain, and _then _nothing. She must have blacked out, and been brought down to the med lab for observation. Still, that didn't quite explain the heart monitor, but that was probably just cautionary, after all it wasn't every day that one of the students suddenly screamed then collapsed. _Huh,_ _happens round here a lot more often than is normal _she thought dryly.Living in a mansion full of developing teenage mutants did tend to have certain side effects.__

Well, she would probably get a few lectures in the morning but hopefully no worse than that. With any luck the Professor would still be too distracted to investigate too far and just leave it at, 'Rogue, is there anything you feel you need to talk about?' No problem.

Still, Rogue couldn't completely relax, there was still something off. For the third time in as many minutes, she sighed. Not only did she have to live with a genetic curse and endure two months of 'Wideawake' but now she was going paranoid. Great. Well that would certainly round things off nicely…

She stopped, there was something else, out of place, a light noise barely detectable over the beeping of the monitor by her bed. Rogue forced herself to keep her breathing even as she felt the muscles in her stomach begin to tighten again, it was coming from something in the lab. _No,someone,_ the corrected herself, _definitely someone._ There was something very organic about the noise; perhaps it was just a little too irregular to be mechanical. But more than that, now that she knew what she was looking for it was almost as if she could feel a presence in the room with her. Behind her. She closed her eyes. Agonisingly slowly, she eased her self over onto her other side not wanting to alert…whoever it was, although that seemed a bit pointless after all the sighing she had done earlier. Carefully, she cracked open her eyes to peek through her eyelashes.

What she saw almost made her fall out of bed.

There, sitting on a chair beside her bed, his head cradled on his arms just below her pillow, was Gambit. _What th' _hell Not quite believing what she was seeing, she closed her eyes and shook her head before going to look at him again. _No, not at _him_ because there is no way th' almahty Remy LeBeau can actually be asleep next to mah bed. Can there? _Sure enough, there he was.

Wide awake now, Rogue stared at the head in front of her. _What?_ Her mind struggled to comprehend what her eyes were telling her. _What is Gambit doing in th' lab at this hour? An' why th' _hell_ is he asleep next to mah bed?! Ah think Ah preferred not knowin' where Ah was, at least that made some kinda twisted sense!_

**__**

An incredulous look still plastered on her face, she gently eased herself up toward the headboard to get a better look at him. Her movement must have alerted him for he shifted slightly causing her to freeze for fear of waking him, or maybe to avoid the awkwardness of having to talk after discovering him asleep on her bed. That could definitely lead to some interesting questions, never mind the answers.

Now from her new position, she studied him closely. Jaw-length russet hair tangled over his head and spilling onto the sheets, chiselled face and high cheekbones partially covered by his long bangs, sensual lips relaxed from their normal smirk and long lashes nearly brushing his cheeks. _No one should have lashes that long,_ Rogue mused as she watched him. _In fact, no one should be allowed t' be that attractive, period. Especially him._ She scowled. The first time she had seen him on the battlefield his looks alone had been enough to make her stop dead and stare (although she would die before admitting it to anyone, including herself). He had just smirked and handed her a card considerately charged enough to blow her hand off. Luckily she had snapped out of it in time to throw it away. Of course, a lot of things had happened since then, but from that moment on she had borne a serious grudge, not for his looks or personality, (although they definitely didn't help) but for the way he made her feel. He made her feel like she was losing control, and if there was one thing she yearned for, dreamed of, it was control. Losing the meagre quantities she had now made her angry as hell and scared out of her mind, (another fact she would never admit to herself).

Stirring from her thoughts Rogue's eyes narrowed. That fight with him and his cronies had landed her with more trouble than she had anticipated.

_Flash back_

_Rogue was cold. Beyond anything else, beyond the pain, beyond the discomfort, she was cold. The first few days she had never been quiet, screaming obscenities that would have impressed whenever the guards came into hearing range. When they tired of this and took steps to 'persuade' her hold her tongue she had screamed at them. She never gave into them; never let them break her. Never._

_That was before the tests began, the experimenting. They had learned all about her 'gift' from Fred, though she couldn't bring herself to blame him after the seeing the results of the experiments pushing his invulnerability to the limits. Even Logan's tests hadn't been that bad, she thought. He had come back half dead on several occasions and Rogue was sure that if it wasn't for his healing factor he would never had survived the first day, but Fred's general invulnerability meant the doctors had to be more…inventive._

_When it was her turn to be taken away she had kicked and screamed, cursed and fought, but by the time she came back though, she was very quiet. Oh, she was far from broken, (contrary to what the guards believed) but her fight had evolved into something contained, something dangerous. She didn't have much choice. After the first couple of tests almost all her energy was turned inward fighting…_

_End _

Rogue mentally jerked away from that train of though before it lead somewhere…dangerous. Even now, months after her capture and rescue from Trask's hellhole her mind shied away from the memory, from the knowledge of…_that._ None of the X-men knew what had gone on the cold steel tables where they…_ when_ they had taken her away. They thought they did, but they had no idea, not really, and she intended to keep it that way. _Sometahms ignorance _is_ bliss. 'Sides, Ah need to figure this out on mah own. At least foh now.  
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Next chapter coming soon, please review! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Vagabond__


	2. Considerations

Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed, I'm really sorry but I deleted the other chapter 2 file before copying what I said, but thank you so much, you kept me writing! Chapter 2 

Still, she couldn't keep her thoughts from some of the other events that had taken place in the compound.

~_Flashback~_

_She had been sleeping, something had woken her. Through the haze created by the drugs pumped into her veins Rogue tried to work out what was going on. Slowly, she began to analyse the information her nerves were screaming at her: An explosion sent shudders through the building. Shouts, gunfire, yells, the tortured scream of warping metal. Another explosion, closer this time. Not for the first time, Rogue's thoughts formed prayer. _Let it be them, please let it be them_. She wasn't even sure who 'they' were anymore. She remembered knowing they were good, that they were her friends, that they would help her, but their identities, names, faces, were no more than shadows in her memory. It had been days, weeks, months? since she had been captured and the world outside seemed like a distant dream, constantly fading no matter how hard she tried to cling onto it. _Don't matter, even if it ain't them_, the one certainty at that point in her life drowned any doubts or fear, two things she had long ago learned to ignore, _nowhere can poss'bly be worse 'n here…_then the drugs in her system began to reclaim her and the world around sank into darkness._

_~End~_

Rogue frowned at the memories following these events. She knew there were a few things that didn't fit, that things had happened, but they were fragmented, unreliable. Thinking back, she thought she remembered arms holding her, carrying her if their movements were any indication. Explosions of varying strengths and proximities were also jumbled in there, punctuating the sounds of screams and running footsteps. Pushing deeper into the memory, she vaguely recalled a laugh, soft and reassuring, and maybe a voice, then nothing. The next thing she new she was waking up in the rather battered med lab, in fact _this_ med lab, situated underneath the X-men's mansion. Or what was left of it. In fact, now that she thought about it, there was a definite sense of déja vu.

_~Flashback~_

_Waking up in a lab had not had the greatest effect on her, but the moment Beast walked in she had inexplicably relaxed. Why the presence of a huge beast-like man covered in blue fur and bandages should be reassuring, she didn't know, but soon the memories came flooding back and all became clear. _

_Almost all the X-men were present to welcome her back, including Logan and Evan as they had woken before her, but Fred had returned to the Brotherhood a few days previously. This meant that the only X-man currently missing was Professor Xavier himself. For some reason they all seemed relieved to have her back, especially surprising considering how they had treated her before the kidnapping. _No, that ain't fair. They were always kind to meh, they just didn't understand._ In fact, Kitty had been so relieved she had rushed in for a hug without a second thought about Rogue's powers. That had touched Rogue more than she would like to admit, and since then she had always been a little more open to the freshman. _

_After the reunions were complete she asked them what had happened. Apparently she had been in the compound nearly two months before they could locate them. They said they had infiltrated the base and freed as many of the prisoners as they could, including Fred and Logan. Beast had already been freed from a smaller compound specialising in adult mutations. Unfortunately, before they could reach her block, the self-destruct sequence was enabled and they were forced to retreat. When the explosions had ceased and the dust had cleared, they returned to search the ruins. After harbouring no real hope that they would find her alive, it had seemed like a miracle when they had discovered her a few hundred metres away from the debris, passed out on the grass, and had reasonably assumed that she had escaped while they were creating a distraction. Rogue said nothing to deny this, but she never confirmed it either. She decided that as she wasn't even sure herself, they really didn't need to know and it would only worry them. _

_~End~_

Looking again at the sleeping Gambit before her, Rogue wondered. The first time he had laughed she had done a double take, sure she had heard it somewhere before. She had confronted the teen about the events during her escape a while after he had joined their team, but all he had said was _"Gambit always protect de valuable beb"_ Well that was a cryptic answer, even if it was in third person. Rogue smirked slightly, that had always pissed her off.  

Scowling again, Rogue watched the enigma that was Remy LeBeau. What, really, was he doing here? She didn't think he had joined the team as a chance to spy on them or anything like that, although she wouldn't put it past him, it was just that he didn't exactly fit in with the other X-Men. _Huh, this comin' from a bitchy goth who keeps everyone at arms length an' can kill with a touch._ Ok, so she couldn't really talk, but still. She had her uncontrollable powers as an excuse, what was his? Was it Storm? They had seemed quite close when she had supported his request to join the X-Men and when she had introduced him to the rest of the team. She was fairly sure none of the other members of the team could call the weather goddess 'Stormy' and walk away unscathed.

_~Flashback~_

_Everyone was gathered in the newly built rec, room in response the Professor's request to meet him for an introduction. There was an underlying sense of anticipation as the mutants awaited the appearance of their mentor. It was only a week since they had finally managed to make contact with Professor Xavier, four days since his return, and three days since his great sacrifice to preserve the safety of his students. He had seemed very old and tired after his efforts to wipe the memories of mutants from the minds of the inhabitants of Bayville and this would be his first appearance since that event. _

_Desperately trying to ignore…something distracting, Rogue looked around the room at her friends, her (as much as she hated to admit it) family. Kurt and Evan were playing on the Playstation, probably jumping around more than their characters in their enthusiasm, Jubilee yelling encouragement from behind. Jamie, Bobby and Rahne were huddled on the sofa gossiping about the meeting, Beast was in a corner discussing computers with Kitty, Scott and Jean talking quietly in another corner while Roberto tried unsuccessfully to seduce Amara beside the pool table. Logan was leaning on the doorjamb wearing his customary scowl and a look of mild disgust at being stuck in a room full of teenagers, and Storm was nowhere to be seen. _

_The…distraction, was intensifying and Rogue wasn't sure how much longer she could hold it off unnoticed. Jean was already giving her slightly odd looks despite the icy glares being sent her way. Rogue's brow furrowed in concentration and a silent plea for Jean to leave well alone and let her deal with this. The last thing she wanted was to bother their mentor with a problem which seemed insignificant when compared to the service he had performed for them, giving up not only a great deal of mental energy, but also his ideals to protect them._

_Thankfully, everyone was interrupted at that moment by the arrival of the Professor. Everyone immediately turned to face him, and for a moment an expectant silence settled over the room. _

_A small proud smile appeared on the Xavier's lips as he surveyed his students. The mind wipe had cost him dearly, both physically and morally, but although he regretted the act itself, he knew he would carry it out again. The recent events had clearly shown what Magneto had obviously been trying to tell them: that the world was not yet ready for mutants._

_The students, meanwhile, were all waiting for the reason for calling the meeting. They did not have to wait long, as the Professor was soon followed by Storm and, Rogue bit back a gasp, a familiar face. _What th' hell does he think he's doin' here? _Apparently everyone else recognised him as the silence their entrance had caused was shattered by at least ten voices all speaking at once, a few comments standing out._

_"Hey, doesn't he work for Magneto"_

_"Like, what is he doing here?" _

_"Professor he's the enemy!" Xavier held up his hand for silence, waiting for everyone to stop before talking himself._

_ "X-Men, I would like to introduce our newest member, this is Remy LeBeau, or you may know him as Gambit. He came to me recently requesting a place on the team." _

_"Professor, you aren't seriously letting him join the X-Men after what happened with the Sentinel," Rogue caught a few glances thrown her way following Bobby's statement and pointedly ignored or out-glared them._

"If Gambit may say somet'ing", Remy spoke before the Professor could answer, "My allegiance to Magneto was never completely… voluntary. I never had a quarrel wit' you, I jus' followed de orders an' kept m' head down. 'Sides, dat fight wasn't meant t' get y' captured…" for an instant Gambit's eyes flicked to Rogue "…jus' t' show y' how mankind 'll react t' us." Huh, guess they did that successfully.

"If you didn't want to work for him then why did you fight us?" The Professor watched as Remy shrugged, letting him answer the questions. He knew his students wouldn't blindly accept a former enemy with open arms, and it would probably be best if they started getting to know the young man themselves rather than listening to Xavier answering their questions for him. He studied their reactions as Remy answered calmly.

"Gambit value his life." There was silence to this statement. All of the X-Men knew of Magneto, either through their tangles with him or by reputation, and nobody could really fault the Cajun's logic. Magneto could be ruthless.

"Even so, how do we know we can trust you?" Scott wasn't completely convinced by his little story. Rogue had to go with him on this one; there was something very smooth, slippery about him that she didn't like. Even if he wasn't intending to betray them, she had seen his moves before and doubted he couldn't have gotten away from Magneto if he really wanted to. There was truth in there, he was too clever to omit all of it, but he wasn't telling them everything. Rogue's scowl intensified as she awaited his reply. Surprisingly though, it was Storm who offered an answer this time.

"I will vouch for him," she said simply. Everyone looked shocked, especially Evan.

"Why would you trust him Auntie O?" 

"Because he once paid me a great service, with no thought of payment or personal gain, merely because I was in need," Storm paused to smile warmly at Remy before continuing, " I trust him with my life." The stunned looks worn by pretty much everyone in the room were priceless, even Logan had raised an eyebrow. Hearing that the regal weather-witch would place her life into the hands of a demon-eyed teenager was not what they were expecting to hear.

"Well, I think that about covers it," a quiet smile touched Xavier's lips as he scanned the room. Most seemed wary of their new recruit, especially Scott. To a certain extent that was good, a team leader should always be alert to possible threats, no matter what form they took. Rogue too seemed uncomfortable, though some of the other girls seemed less worried about his presence. Well, that could also be beneficial; Gambit shouldn't feel too threatened or alienated when introduced to a new situation. Deciding that he was no longer needed, Xavier made a parting request, "Please make sure Remy is welcomed into his new home. Now if you will excuse me…" 

Slightly surprised that he hadn't stayed to make the introductions, Rogue watched as the Professor turned and left the room. She then turned her attention back to their latest recruit, starting a little to find him studying her in return. A bit put out, she raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'something you wanted?' His response was an almost undetectable smirk and a certain glint in his eye. Rogue replied with her patented 'Death Glare', as named by Evan; if he thought he was just going to waltz in her and play her like he had on the battlefield he had another thing coming to him. To her surprise, his only response was to widen his smirk and incline his head ever so slightly before turning his attention back to 'Stormy'. Rogue narrowed her eyes; if this was how he returned her bitchy behaviour she was going to teach him what happened when people didn't to keep their distance. She needed a little payback for events during and following a certain fight. A distinctly evil smirk touched Rogue's lips as she watched him flirt outrageously with Jean, much to Scott's disapproval; life in the institute was certainly going to be interesting from now on.

~End~

OK, not _end _end, but you know what I mean. _Please review!_

~vagabond~__


	3. Fighting

OK, in response to Lady Mr's (thank you!) suggestion I have re-written and reposted chapters 1 and 2. Not completely, but after re-reading chapter 1 I realised how bad it was anyway so a few changes, mainly at the beginning. I also juggled all 3 current chapters cos they were all different and cut off in weird places. They still do but it's a bit better.

Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed, I never thought people would actually like it! Whoever told me to make sure that my spell-checker knows who's boss (me!), I have taken your advice and it seems to be behaving better now. Many thanks. Wiccamage, I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and Rads AU, I'm on your favourite's list? ****sniff Wow!

Well, enjoy!

Chapter 3

Remy LeBeau, former ally of Magneto and enemy to the X-Men, had now become their newest member, and life at the institute was certainly going to be interesting from now on.

Despite herself Rogue gave a grudging smile at the memory, she had had no idea!

As soon as the professor had left Storm had made the introductions, leading Remy around and telling each person's name and power and describing his. Apparently he was able to 'convert the potential energy of an object into kinetic energy which is then released in an explosion of varying severity' which impressed most of the mansion's male population. Remy himself, meanwhile, quickly wormed his way into the hearts of the females, starting with a kiss on the back of the hand. Her smile changed to a smirk as she recalled the look on his face when she had yanked her hand away before he could deliver the same to her. Ha, looked shocked that a 'femme' would evah turn him down. Well he got a lotta that since then. That was certainly true. Ever since that day he seemed to have made it his personal mission to flirt with her, or maybe just to piss her off as much as possible. She was sure by a few of the looks the other guys had given them that they were wondering how he had lived this long. Sure, he said he liked to live dangerously, but there were limits. Ticking off Rogue was universally known as something which could seriously shorten your life-span.

Rogue sighed, the shock of her discovery was wearing off and she was starting to tire again, four hours of sleep a night were definitely not enough to survive on. She had been watching Remy nearly an hour now and was still no great revelations about him. Hell, Ah've had six solid months o' th' guy and Ah still ain't got a clue about what goes on in that head o' his. She scowled again. Jerk. She had tried several methods to try and make him keep his distance, most of them involving yelling insults in front of as many of the mansion's inhabitants as possible, but it hadn't seemed to make him back off at all. If anything it had encouraged him further. He was always there, at school, at home, at the park, she couldn't get away from him. It was her ingrained response to push him away, to push everyone away. It was like breathing, she had trained herself to make sure no-one ever got close, it could get them hurt. Especially now. But he was always smirking and trying to touch her, put his arm round her. Apart from annoying the hell out of her, didn't he understand how much it hurt? Why did he always play these games?

Unless, maybe, it wasn't a game anymore. There were a few times when he had seemed almost, sweet, considerate. Now hold on there sugah, sure he done a few nice thing, that don' mean th' boy lahkes ya o' nothing, ya jus' somethin' new. What did he say th' first tahme ya asked him why he wouldn't leave ya alone? "Gambit always love a challenge chere." That's all he thinks o' ya as, a challenge.

Then why does he always come back to you? A little voice at the back of her mind asked her quietly. Why does he keep coming back even after all your rejections? Why is he asleep on your bed? Rogue violently squashed thoughts before they could go any further, but the damage had been done and the hope had blossomed. Maybe there was a chance that... Stop that, no one 'd want a gal they can't touch,' specially as screwed up as ya'. Rogue suddenly found herself fighting tears, the moisture clouding her vision.

Where the hell had all of this come from?

Rogue's eyes widened slightly as she roused herself from her thoughts, fear tracing an icy finger down her spine as she finally felt the movement in her subconscious. Tired and sleepy as she was, she had been caught unawares, caught with her defences down. She bit her lip trying frantically to stop the flow, but it was too late. The hope had hit her harder than it had in a long time, dredging up all the pain and self-hate she had tried to keep down for so long. The swell of negative emotion gave…them, strength, fuelling the hatred, offering a foothold, and before she knew it the dam had broken.

Images, memories, sensations forced themselves into her mind, aggressive and violent. It was like a tide, breaking her walls and flooding her thoughts. The attack was so sudden, so unexpected, she feared she would lose all control and drown in her own mind. Rogue curled into a ball, gripping the sheets in desperation, trying futilely to shield herself from the attack. Squeezing her eyes shut she searched desperately for something to hold onto, some anchor to stop her being swept away.

Among the swirling chaos of her mind, a memory surfaced.

Flashback

Rogue's twisted round in alarm, she had heard something, she was sure of it. Narrowing her eyes she searched the shadows lurking around the roof, behind the chimney, in one of the many recesses or sprawling shadows cast by the many different levels and peaks. Nothing.

"Looking' for somet'ing chere?"

Rogue started at the sound, whirling back round to her previous position to locate the source. Her brow lowered in a scowl as she met the eyes of a cocky teen leaning lazily on a convenient chimneystack, red eyes burning from his shadowed face.

"What 'ya want Cajun?" Not exactly the most original comeback but that was the best she could come up with under the circumstances.

Remy pushed himself away from the chimney and stepped towards her in one fluid movement. Watching, it almost impossible to see where one move ended and the next began. Walking towards her with a distinct swagger he smirked as he answered.

"Gambit came to see what de most belle femme in de mansion be doin' dis…" Remy stopped. He had come close enough to notice the red eyes and damp cheeks answering his unfinished question. His brow furrowed and his deamon eyes glowed with concern, he had meant to sneak up on her, maybe play their little game a while, but he had not expected to find her crying. Seeing his reaction Rogue quickly lowered her head in a vain attempt to hide her previous occupation. Miserably she thought please go away, just go away, turn around an' walk away an' pretend ya' never saw nothin', please. Ah really don't want t' have t' deal with this now…

"Rogue, what's wrong cherie?" Remy closed the distance between them in a few strides, crouching down before her. Rogue kept her head down, fighting her thoughts and her tears, and shook her head.

"Jus leave meh be Cajun. Aint nothin' ya could do even if ya cared ta. Jus go back down an' tell 'em ah'm fahn an' foh Gawd sakes leave meh alone." Remy opened his mouth but before he could speak Rogue added, "An' don' even try an' tell me they didn' tell ya ta come up here an' check on me cos Ah've lived with 'em 2 years an' Ah know perfectly well how they work." Remy shut his mouth again.

For a moment they just sat there, Rogue curled up with her head bowed fighting to maintain her control, Remy crouched before her, frozen in indecision.

Finally, unable to take the tortures stillness any longer, Gambit shifted. Rogue heaved and inward sigh of relief; he was leaving! But instead, he reached forward and gently brushed away strand of hair behind her ear, then traced her jaw line forward with a gloved finger until he reached her chin he pushed her head up to meet his eyes.

He stopped, his face was completely unreadable. Staring into his eyes she felt the slight pull that all the other girls seemed to find amazingly attractive, but before she could rip herself away he spoke again, his voice softer this time.

"Talk t' me chere." Again, she tried to felt the slight pull, but this time the insistence and concern in his eyes stopped her from fighting. Instead, she sighed heavily and shook her head in defeat, keeping an iron grip on the remaining tears. When she spoke her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Ah don't know how much longer Ah can fight it." Rogue lowered her head again before she could see the confusion or, worst of all, pity in his eyes.

"Mebbe it's time y' talked t' th' Professor" he suggested quietly. Rogue's head snapped up to look at him in amazement. He was supposed to react with bewilderment, and maybe take the opportunity to flirt outrageously after a comment like that, he wasn't supposed to be understanding. Could he know? If so, how? She searched his eyes for a clue.

Remy just gave a gentle smile before he dropped a kiss on her hair, turned and disappeared over the edge of the roof. Rogue stared after him, eyes wide and mouth open, for a good 30 seconds before she got over the shock. When she finally did react it was to lower her shields, donning the scowl and bitchy attitude with barely disguised relief. How the hell were you supposed to react to something like that?. Still, she couldn't resist a grudging smirk and a "Stupid Cajun" before returning to her room for some much needed sleep.

End

Rogue lay tensed on the bed, eyes tightly closed and breathing shallow as she clung desperately to the memory, her mind flailing helplessly as the tide washed over her. She bit her lip, the sheets still gripped in her shaking fists, she was going to lose her hold any second…

Gradually, though, the swirling faded and the currents settled. There was no energy left to fuel it, so they sank beneath the surface and the fight was over as quickly as it had began. Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about another attack, at least for a while, that one had tapped all available reserves and they would need time to be replenished.

Rogue took several minutes to steady her breathing and heart rate before opening her eyes. Then she just lay watching Gambit sleep, her body and mind weak with relief and exhaustion. That had been very close, she had almost lost it. And, ironically, it was a memory of him that had kept her from loosing all control. Rogue snorted quietly, so far tonight Ah've scared mahself senseless wakin' in th' lab, found Remy 'Jerk' LeBeau asleep next t' mah bed and nearly lost all control of mah mind. Again. Is this some strange alternate reality? No, just another normal day in the life o' Th' Rogue, she thought sarcastically. Ah hate mah life. Then, before she had a chance wallow in self pity, and Ah definitely need more sleep.

Deciding that certain mysteries could be left until morning, she allowed her eyes to close, feeling the pull of sleep almost immediately. Her last thought before the darkness claimed her was well, maybe he ain't that bad…

Well, tell me what you think, please? The next couple of chapters will be more from Remy's point of view, which is why there isn't much detail on his thoughts etc. in this part, cos Rogue wouldn't know. I'm afraid it will be more of the same because I like writing like this and I really can't write with lots of the characters, mainly cos I don't really know any of them.

Oh, tell me what you think of the revised chapters 1 and 2. I was going to offer to put them back the way they were if people preferred them the way they were, but I just realised I deleted them so I'm afraid that isn't going to happen, sorry! Please review!

Thank you!

Vagabond


	4. Reflexes

OK, sorry it took so long to update, exams, urgh! And apologies for deleting the story then reposting last time, I somehow managed to miss the box that lets you change the chapters! I can be so _dense_ sometimes!

ishandahalf, fuzuki, sydney, Jeanie*girl, xgirlrogue, Genocide, Denial, Owl Eyed Athena, night-cat333: thank you so much for reviewing, I'm glad you're enjoying it, and thank you so much for the complements, you really know how to keep me writing! (Lets just ignore the months between these updates, shall we?)

Deluca: thank you for being so honest, I know, I re-read the first chapter a while after I posted chapter 2 and it was, well, crap, to put it mildly. I'm really glad to hear that you're enjoying it more now, thanks again for reviewing. Oh, and I'm not at all used to writing from Remy's POV so if it's crap again, tell me and I'll re-write it once I've had some practice!

Lady MR: yes you are a pain in the ass, but a very useful one! Thank you for bugging me to do that, it really is _so_ much better. Honestly, I re-read the first draft and I was cringing the whole way through! I definitely owe you one! And I know I could have stayed in Rogue's POV (and I'll be going back to her later) but 1. I wanted a chance to get a look in Remy's head (hey, who wouldn't!) and 2. if I had any kind of plot planned I would, but I don't really, so I'm going to go with these character's histories first and then maybe do a sequel of some kind which is actually a story, (not that this one isn't, it's just that it's looking at their lives from early on, but backwards, and it's not exactly original!) It's kind of a warm-up if nothing else.

beth: mail or review what you find confusing and I'll try and clear it up, I know there's nothing worse than reading through a fic and every few sentences thinking '_what???_'. If any of that is due to formatting (or lack of) I know, it keeps ignoring that half of the text is in italics, does anyone know how to stop that? I know computers aren't exactly intelligent but that is really weird and _really _annoying!

Kiki Mo ToU: as I've said I live in the UK and the furthest I've seen in evo is the one with Mag's asteroid (couldren?), so I'm just going with the comics and the old cartoon, where he was, hence the not-quite-French accent! But if anyone knows different, please tell me (I hope not though, it's hard enough writing Cajun!)

Linkin-spike: no prob, I _love_ your fics, no way am I better than you! (Thanks though, high praise!) Great that you're carrying on, I'm really looking forward to any updates. 

Wow this is long, sorry! K, the next couple of chapters are going to be more from Remy's POV rather than Rogue's. I'm going under the assumption that Remy has his empathy and kinaesthetic sense, his ability to 'feel' physical changes around him (mainly movement but also temperature change, walls, spaces etc.) as well as his charging and charm power (he's really quite powerful actually isn't he?). I am also roughly sticking to his comic history, with some interesting changes of course!

Well, enjoy!

Chapter 4 

Movement. The soft hiss of fabric sliding over fabric. Close. Someone was moving nearby. 

And beeping.

Slowly at first, the mutant named Gambit awoke.

He tensed; there was someone here with him. Automatically he stretched out his senses to find the source of the movement, using his kinaesthetic sense to survey his surroundings for any possible danger. He could feel someone shifting under covers on the surface his head was lying on, possibly female. He concentrated; yes, he could tell by their shape and the way they moved, definitely female.

He must have shifted or stiffened slightly for she suddenly froze, her body tense and still. He swore inwardly, a few years ago he would never have given that away, it could have cost him his life. He concentrated on keeping his breathing deep and natural, praying she hadn't realised he had woken. After a few moments she relaxed again and lay back on what he assumed was a bed, keeping so still he almost thought she had fallen asleep.

She didn't move again so he risked shifting some of his concentration away from her to his own person. In a matter of seconds he had located all his weapons: cards in pockets and up his sleeves, a small blade strapped to his wrist and another in his boot and his bo-staff in a sheath in the small of his back. His arsenal also included various small metal objects scattered around his person that, combined with his speed and skill, could at least slow someone down.

He 'looked' at her again to see what she was doing. She still hadn't moved. She was just lying there, watching him so closely he had to stop himself from squirming under her gaze. Concentrating closely on her to try and ignore his discomfort he realised she had no weapons; in fact it seemed by her lethargic movements and rather sleepy body language that she had only just woken. In that sense he was lucky she was so close, it allowed him to sense such small detailed with his spatial awareness, over about five feet away he couldn't perceive anything much smaller than a football unless he really concentrated. 

He could sense no immediate threat from either her or his surroundings so he slowly lowered his mental walls just enough to allow his empathic abilities to brush her emotions. Instead of the expected swirl and flow of the average mind, he found this one incredibly hard to read. Not only were there impressive shields, but also it seemed as if the mind were not quite there, like the mental version of Kitty when she 'phased'. The glimpse that he got through this was of a surprisingly controlled mind, much less messy and 'colourful' than normal, and it was this empathic view that told him exactly who it was.

It was Rogue. Even from the brief view he had got he had recognised her, and the shielding and 'phasing' effect were hers as well. They had changed slightly since the last time he had 'seen' her, or at least enough that he did not recognise her at first, but that was definitely her.    

Now that he knew he was in no danger from her he allowed his focus to turn inwards, lowering the defensive guard that went up reflexively each time he woke. Searching back into his immediate memory he found that he had been half aware for several minutes, half roused by the sound sighing, but not enough to wake him fully. He inwardly berated himself; a few years ago a simple change in breathing rate would have woken him, now it took a movement to do so. 

Mentally shaking himself he turned his mind back further.

_~Flashback~_

_After eating dinner with the rather subdued X-Men Gambit walked down to the lab to watch Rogue. Although there no longer seemed to be any immediate danger McCoy still suggested that she be monitored daily and he had decided it was time he visited her again. _

_When he reached the lab it was completely deserted save for the sounds of the heart monitor and the humming of the machines. He had walked over and stood by her bed for several minutes, just watching the rise and fall of her chest and thinking how lucky they had been. He had nearly lost her._

If she goes, who dere be left t' flirt wit'? De others are cute, but dey aren't nearly as fun as mon chere. _Remy managed to not notice how even he could not use the word 'dies' in his thoughts about her almost as smoothly as he ignored the phrase 'mon chere' Well, he was an old hand in deceiving himself, why stop now?_

_At that moment the sound of the door opening startled him from his thoughts._

_~_

_Beast walked into the empty lab, humming absent-mindedly to himself. His spirits had lifted tremendously as soon as Rogue began to improve and he now bounced around the mansion as cheerfully as ever, unconsciously reassuring students and adults with his behaviour. Now, he moved over to Rogue's bed, checked and recorded her vitals and gave her a quick once-over just to make sure there were no noticeable changes. Yes, he thought, she would be awake in a couple of days and up and about in a week at most. He paused, smiling; it would be nice to have her up an around the mansion again. She wasn't exactly the life and soul of the party, but her presence was missed and her return would boost moral around the place no end. Humming to himself again he bounced out of the room. _

_~_

_Only when the door had hissed shut behind Mr. McCoy did Gambit step out from his hiding place. That had been close, he really needed to pay more attention to his surroundings although the fact that he had been fast enough to elude Beast reassured him slightly, _guess I aint completely lost m' touch.

_He wasn't quite sure why he hadn't wanted Hank to know that he was down here, maybe something to do with his old thief's instincts to always hide his weaknesses. _Non, _he thought absently as he walked back over to Rogue's bed. _a t'ief's instinct is to not _have_ any weaknesses. _He frowned. _Looks like Remy failed dere. _His frowned deepened as he looked down at the sleeping girl. The truth was that he was beginning to care about all of these people, care what happened to them. That was dangerous, especially in his line of work. _Y' need t' get outta here, _he told himself_, y' need t' get out before y' start to get close to dem. Y' get close y' get hurt, y' learned dat de hard way. 

He sighed as he watched her, then settled in the chair by her bed to begin his nightly watch. It was part of the ritual; every night he would tell himself he was getting too close, that he should get out of the institute before he got them hurt… And then he would settle in the chair by her bed to guard her until morning. He would stay until around four and then go back to his room for a few hours sleep.

~End~

Except that that wasn't exactly what had happened last night, in fact he was fairly sure that he had never left the infirmary at all. And that lead to the conclusion that he was sitting in was the wooden padded one in the infirmary, and the soft surface beneath his face was Rogue's bed and… He stopped suddenly: that meant Rogue was awake! For a moment he suppressed the urge to get up and hug her, but he decided that probably wouldn't go down very well. He grinned inwardly at what her reaction would be to that. Instead he 'watched' her closely with his spatial sense and, after a moments pause to prepare himself, lowered his shields to her completely. Now, instead of just the overall feel and shape of her mind, he could use his empathic abilities for what they were really meant to do, to feel what she herself was feeling. 

OK, before I get a page load of flames, I know this isn't as good as the previous chapters, but it's already been over a months since I last updated and I felt I should at least get something out! I've actually written it about 3 times, and trust me; this is the best version so far! The next chapter reads better so far, I promise. If you really think this is bad, or you have any ideas to improve (I've been over it about 5 times and I can't see anywhere else to improve, although it's still not quite right, grrr!) tell me! 

Please review!!!!!! Thanks J

~v~


	5. Emotions

OMG, 14 people reviewed the last chapter!!! Wow!!! (The sad things about this are, 1. I'm not actually kidding, I think this is very impressive, and 2. I counted)

Lady MR, gillywine, isandahalf, Bumblebee Queen, kyoki-hime, starlightz6,  (anonymous) ,#, Bunny Angel, Sakura Scout, Eileen Blazer, rogue star and earthling: _You are all wonderful beautiful people and I'm so glad you are actually enjoying this fic! I was reading through a while ago and I realised that I'm a really wordy descriptive writer (which really annoys me when I'm trying to read a fic) so I'm really impressed that so many of you have waded through and seem to have enjoyed it! (You weird, weird people!!)_

Rads: full name Radicals, Carla, klucky and linkin-spike, _thank you so much for your reviews and for putting me on your favs, I am very honoured that you think that highly of this fic. (Wow that sounded pompous!) And sorry anyone else who has and it hasn't come up on my stats or whatever, the same goes!_

I'm SO SORRY I haven't updated in so long, I'm one of those people who writes half then reads it, hates it, rewrites it, reads it, hates it and so-on. PLEASE forgive me, I'm a perfectionist! That and I had exams (stupid British A-Level system) and my computer died a death and had to be all re-installed.

Anyway, I've got my excuses over with, enjoy!

Chapter 5 

Remy opened his mind to Rogue's, feeling her emotions wash in and engulf him. It was like being underwater and feeling the currents and patterns as it ebbed and flowed around him, carrying him like so much debris. 

Her mind was much more controlled than most, but that didn't mean that every emotion, every thought, was precise. It compared to the average mind as a river compares to a sea, flowing purposefully and within defined boundaries, but no less turbulent within the flow. For a second he was thankful that her emotions, although harder to read, were not blocked out by her shielding as her thoughts were, _no wonder de 'paths find her so hard t' read._

But, that didn't make sense. Emotions were how the brain interpreted hormones and chemical swimming round the body, they weren't just magical auras that floated around bumping into people. They were a mental aspect, so didn't that follow that as her thoughts and mind were so well blocked he shouldn't be able to read her emotions… 

Yes, it did. 

So why could he?

That would need some thought; but later, when he didn't have more important things at hand.

Drifting in her emotions, he used a technique he had mastered years ago, before he had learned to shield his mind from the onslaught of surrounding thoughts and feelings. While letting most of his mind go with her and feel her emotions as she did, he kept a small part detached, almost scientific, so that even while he had no control over what he was feeling, he could still analyse and react to what was going on. It was this part that could read feelings and follow thought patterns, although not exactly what they meant, and even imprint his emotions onto other people if he needed to. That was partly how his 'charm', or low level hypnosis, worked.

At first he felt confusion and fading surprise, probably from waking up in an unexpected place and then her discovery of him, and even an edge of fear, although he had no idea what that was from. It seemed like the tail edges of it, perhaps from a dream or nightmare that had disappeared when she woke. There, a faint but persistent undercurrent of resentment, growing and swelling, then morphing into…fear again.  He studied it closely, another an old fear, from a memory perhaps. 

Suddenly another tide of fear and anxiety washed through her and all the streams and tributaries of Rogue's mind that ebbed and split when she wasn't thinking about it were forced back into the main flow. Remy looked on in amazement_. So dat's why her mind's so contained, she always stop de spreadin' as soon as it goes so far. But why? _He studied her emotions carefully, searching for the trigger of her reaction. There was still an undercurrent of fear and resentment but buried too deep to really effect her. No, it must be something else…

Remy was distracted again by a sudden wash of hopelessness and pain. Startled he examined it and realised that, once again, this was an old emotion, although this affected her much more than the previous one. He suspected that this could be memories of her imprisonment and felt a pang of guilt and regret at the part he had played in her capture by Trask.

But now there were more currents, most of them dark; reluctance, fear, a bitter humour, hopelessness, some of them old and some of them fresh. In fact they were so dark that they almost hid the stirrings deep down in her subconscious. 

There was something there, moving. _What de_ hell _is_ dat! He withdrew a little, watching in amazement. S'_like a separate being, apart from Rogue, but dats not possible…_ However, nobody seemed to have informed the creature lurking down in Rogue's mind of this. And now it was waking.  Every movement, every feeling that…thing was projecting screamed _predator._

Remy watched in horror as uncurled a little, sending slimy feelers into the currents, shielding the growing flow of fear and depression from Rogue even as it nursed and fed it. He had never seen anything like it. What on earth was something like this doing within Rogue? Was it part of her, or some kind of parasite, or something else completely? Whatever it was, it wasn't human and something about it made his instincts scream at him to get away.

But now there was something else as well, growing and swelling and morphing and writhing. Remy shivered and retreated as far as possible. Everything here was wrong, so wrong! There were monsters and demons in a river that should be a sea. And nothing like that slimy being should exist. Remy shuddered again. The urge to close himself off completely was almost unbearable but he didn't want to draw attention to himself, so he forced himself to stay still and quiet as the creatures massed.

Bit of a short one this time but chappy 6 isn't far away (honest his time, I've half written it!) so as long as I don't get another bout of perfectionism it shouldn't be too long coming! I'm actually pretty pleased with this chapter but please tell me if you think it could be improved and if so how.

Please please please please _please_ review!!!!!!  Thanks, ~v~


	6. Predator

Hello hello! I would firstly like to thank everyone who reviewed/mailed telling me to get off my butt and update again, you are very hard to put off. Pomegranite Queeen, Imp, bunny angel and ray1 I take my hat off to you, your persistence is admirable :) Secondly I would like to apologise for abandoning this poor little fic for so long, I have to admit I totally lost interest in it. Of course I can't promise that won't happen again, but I will try my very very hardest to stick it out this time, and if not I'm sure I'll get lots of stick for it :p

In any case, I hope you enjoy this next rather delayed instalment :)

Chapter 6

The mass of swarming beings were so large now Remy couldn't understand how Rogue hadn't noticed them and wished that there was some way of warning her, but it seemed almost that she had read his thoughts as the streams and currents suddenly seemed to focus on them. For an instant he thought that maybe she would be able to stop or contain them in some way, they were part of her mind after all, but even as the thought crossed his mind the creatures attacked. They merged into an oily black slick, rearing up like a serpent before striking, wrapping around and within the stream of thoughts, disrupting, fighting, mixing. Rogue's mind jumped violently and writhed in its hold, trying to hold itself together, twisting and turning to free itself while pure terror flooded through her. Remy was thrown and battered in the hurricane of thoughts and emotions, slamming into first one then another while Rogue's terror clouded his vision.

Suddenly a flailing coil of Rogue's thought's seemed to detect him within the maelstrom and before he could even register what was happening it had snapped out and coiled around him and…

_Flashback_

_Remy watched her as she sat curled up on the roof of the mansion, chin resting on her drawn up knees. He grinned. Time for one of his favourite pastimes: Rogue-baiting. _

_He made sure she heard him behind her then slipped behind a rise in the roof as she twisted, making his way silently round to her other side while she was distracted. He leaned up against a chimneystack, making sure he was in a suitably sexy position and using the red glow of his eyes to the maximum, before speaking up._

_"Lookin' for somet'ing chere?"_

_Rogue started at the sound and whirled back to face him. He saw her scowl as she spotted him and had to suppress the urge to grin._

_"What 'ya want Cajun?" Her voice was tinged with annoyance, and something else Remy couldn't identify, but he ignored it. Instead he moved smoothly towards her wearing his trademark smirk._

_"Gambit came to see what de most belle femme in de mansion be doin' dis…" Remy stopped suddenly. He had come close enough to notice the red eyes and damp cheeks answering his unfinished question. _Merde! _He made his way swiftly towards her huddled form, all thoughts of playing their game banished. _

_"Rogue, what's wrong cherie?" Remy crouched down before her trying to meet her gaze. She avoided him, keeping her head bowed and shaking it as though to clear her thoughts. He had a sneaking suspicion that this would need a lot more than just a shake of the head but didn't remark on it._

_"Jus leave meh be Cajun. Aint nothin' ya could do even if ya cared ta. Jus go back down an' tell 'em ah'm fahn an' foh Gawd sakes leave meh alone." Remy opened his mouth to give an albiet half-hearted attempt at defending himself and her teammates but before he could speak Rogue added, "An' don' even _try _an' tell me they didn' tell ya ta come up here an' check on me cos Ah've lived with 'em 2 years an' Ah know perfectly well how they work." Remy shut his mouth again. Although he hated to admit it the last remark had stung a little. Did she really think that he cared so little for her? He didn't go out of his way for her, except when he was bored and wanted someone to annoy of course, but that didn't mean he was just going to leave her truely alone._

_For a moment they just sat there. Looking down at her he could faintly feel the turmoil brushing the edges of his empathy and added this to what he had already observed. He had caught her muttering to herself on a few occasions when she thought no-one was looking and even arguing or crying out to voices that were not there. If it had been almost anyone else he would have been seriously considering talking to Xavier but, with the nature of her powers added to the equation the situation became much clearer and understandable, if no less worrying. Even then, if he hadn't had the benefit of some of the team's comments - and a totally innocent and accidental look at some of Xavier's more private files - he might still be inaccurate. _

_Finally deciding that it was time to take an active part in helping her, if not an overt one, he reached forward and gently brushed away strand of hair behind her ear. He then traced her jaw line forward with a gloved finger until he reached her chin and pushed her head up to meet his eyes. When they had locked gazes he sent out a little of his empathy to hold her there and stop her from turning away. _

_"Talk t' me chere." He let a little insistence and concern bleed into his voice. He was worried about her. Rogue sighed heavily and shook her head before speaking in what was barely above a whisper. _

_"Ah don't know how much longer Ah can fight it." Despite the situation Remy had to almost physically restrain himself from speaking the rather inappropriate words that poured to the tip of his tongue in response to _that_ comment. Instead he surprised himself by answering quietly and sincerely._

_"Mebbe it's time y' talked t' th' Professor" Rogue's head snapped up to look at him in amazement; apperently he wasn't the only one surprised at his sudden show of verbal self control. Remy allowed himself a gentle smile then, deciding he may as well use this oppotunity to it's full dramatic potential, he dropped a kiss on her hair and jumped over the edge of the roof. He caught the gutter on his way over just long enough to swing himself towards the wall of the building then landed softly and gracefully on a third story windowsill. Unfortunately the effect was rather spoiled by his foot then slipping on a small patch of moss and nearly sending him on his happy way downwards, but he managed to save himself in time to catch Rogue's voice drifting down to him:_

_"Stupid Cajun" He grinned to himself then, with minimal effort, opened the window and made his silent way inside to his own bed, making a mental note to add windowsills to the cleaning rota._

_End_

Slowly he felt himself detach from what was happening within the memory. Even as he was disentangling he could feel Rogue's mind begin to calm, although whether this was from her strength or the creatures ceasing their attack he wasn't sure. Whatever it was, the whirlwind easing.

Slowly he withdrew from her, extricating himself as delicately as he could until only a tendril of his empathy remained open between them. She remained totally unaware of him within her mind, slowly calming down enough for the heart monitor to stop the wild clammour that Remy had only just become aware of. He maintained his pretense of sleep while Rogue recovered. She fell asleep quickly, probably tired from her ordeal and incomplete recovery, and helped along by Remy and his tenuous link to her emotions feeding her sleepyness.

Only when he was sure that Rogue was asleep did Remy dare to raise his head. His heart was pounding like a wild thing against his ribs and a sense of astonishment was still firmly in place as he watched her sleep. She was curled up on the bed, her face nestling into the covers tangled up one of her hands. She looked unbelievably cute... he firmly ingnored this observation. He could hardly believe that only moments before she had been fighting tooth and nail for her sanity, taking him along for the ride. And the creatures were still there, waiting. This wasn't over. For an instant Remy had an image of the dark swirling mass ready to engulf her completely, spurred on by that black shape.

It was far from over.

..................................................................................................................................................

Ok, what did you think? Good, bad, ugly…really ugly? You know you can always tell me in a REVIEW!!!!!!!!!

I'll try not to wait 18 months before my next update this time J

Vagabond


	7. Hiding

Hello! Told you I'd be back! K, reviews…

IvyZoe – Thankyou SO much for your review, I read it and just sat down and wrote for about an hour. I really hope this fic lives up to your expectations, I'm really honoured that you think so highly of it, and I promise not to abandon it again.

Ishy – Yeah I know, fallen off the face of the planet? Me?! Sorry!! But look, updaty goodness!! Glad your still enjoying it, I have big plans for this fic, lotsa plot…hopefully. And yeah, big bad creature, but there's a reason for that, but I'm not gonna tell you what it is yet! :P

Les723 – Course I don't mind if you out my fic, I'm really pleased you like it so much, glad you've enjoyed it so far!

Eileen Blazer – Hides I'm sorry!! But look, another update, so now you don't have to be mad at me!! Hope you enjoy it, thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 7

The mood in the mansion had risen from gloomy and fearful to cheerful and excited in that short time between the mutants waking up and the chaos that was breakfast, all due to one piece of news. Rogue had woken up! They had all gone to see her at least briefly before breakfast and were now chattering more happily than they had done in weeks, all but Kitty and Kurt who had stayed downstairs with Rogue for breakfast. The sense of relief and encouragement was due not just because they would now have their moody, depressed and angsty friend back with them (although this was of course cause for celebration) but also from the feeling that the shadow of Trask had been further lifted. Rogue and the others had suffered, were still suffering in some ways, but they had survived, and they would keep on surviving no matter what.

Rogue, meanwhile, was not feeling quite so optimistic now that she was trapped with Kitty and Kurt in a confined space and, worst of all, they were in a good mood. A very good mood. Rogue had once theorised that their mood was directly correlated to how much Kurt bamphed around, how much they bickered and how much shrill laughter Kitty could produce. In other words, better mood, louder and more irritating noise pollution. Not that she wasn't glad her friends were happy, Rogue cared about them far more than she would care to admit, but if she heard just one more bamph or one more 'like' she was going to strangle them. Slowly.

Fortunately at that moment they both realised they had a Danger Room session in 15 minutes and had to get ready at once to have any chance of escaping the wrath of a Wolverine who had been kept waiting. Rogue was just breathing a sigh of relief when Kitty turned at the door and said, 'I'll be back soon and I'll, like, bring some home-made cookies to celebrate!' before running off happily. Rogue stared after her in horror. Kitty, cooking? _Haven't Ah been punished enough?!.  
_

_###  
_

'Ten days'

'…what?'

'You've been unconscious for ten days, Rogue'

'But…that's impossible.' Rogue and Professor Xavier were sitting in his study, he behind his wide dark wood desk, she in the comfortable chair on the other side.

'According to Doctor McCoy your collapse was not due to any physical aspect that he could detect, so we must therefore assume at this stage that it was something else.' He looked at her gently but closely; trying to gauge her reactions before asking, 'Do you remember anything about it Rogue?'

Rogue paused, eyes lowered and refusing to meet his own, and shifted uncomfortably under his searching gaze. She didn't want to remember, she didn't want to have to face the possibilities or what Xavier and the X-Men would do when they found out.

'Rogue,' he said softly, and she looked up into his kind face, 'you are in no trouble and this is not something you should be ashamed of. I am calling it a 'collapse' because that is what it was, and I will not sugar-coat the situation to someone as capable as yourself,' Rogue blinked at the compliment. 'I only want to help you. You do not have to tell me anything you don't wish to, and if you would feel more comfortable talking with Hank or Ororo I will take no offence.'

'No, it's alright Professor, Ah'm sorry it's just…' she shook her head, ashamed of herself for feeling untrusting, 'Ah can remember what happened, Ah just don't understand any of it. It was…'she paused thinking carefully, 'Ah was suddenly hit with memories, lahke they were forcing themselves into mah mind and Ah couldn't do anything about it, and then there was just this pain and it was in mah head but also in mah body and Ah…' she paused again, this time it was her gauging the Professor, 'then Ah blacked out,' she finished lamely.

'Was this another attack from the psyches? Or memories from the people you have absorbed resurfacing violently for some reason?'

'No, that's just it,' she said, frustrated, 'Ah didn't recognise any of the images Ah saw. It was almost like…' she bit her lip, 'like Ah was absorbing someone for the first time… But that can't be right, Ah mean, even if Ah was touchin' someone without realisin' it'd be someone in the mansion and Ah'd recognise the memories!'

'I see,' the Professor said slowly. For a few moments he stared ahead, obviously considering this, before turning his eyes on her again. 'Have you ever felt anything like this before?'

'Ah…no, Ah don't remember anything like it.' Rogue once again would not meet his eyes.

'In that case, there is something else I would like to talk to you about,' he answered gravely. 'Due to the continuing development of your mental shielding, especially the changes after your experiences with Trask,' he watched the spasm of pain cross her face with sense of utter regret, 'I can no longer enter your mind even with your assistance.'

A tiny part of her felt satisfied, safe, now that she could keep out even the most powerful telepath on the planet and yet, Rogue's heart sank, 'So, you can't help me?'

'Rogue I promise, I will do everything I possibly can to help you work through this, but I will have to do so without the aid of telepathy. To be honest, it may have been no great advantage and you, like Jean, are simply evolving and developing naturally.' Rogue nodded, although she did not seem at all convinced by this argument. To be honest neither was Xavier, but he needed more information before he could start to understand what was going on with Rogue beyond pure speculation.

'Rogue, was there anything else you want to tell me?' he asked, hoping she might finally start to talk about her capture. If he could just gain her trust enough for her to talk about it the healing process could begin; bottled up inside her like this he was afraid the pressure would build until she just…snapped. Rogue looked up at him again, and for a second hope bloomed in him, but then she shook her head.

'No Professor, thank you for your time.' She left a worried and regretful Xavier sitting alone behind his large desk as she walked quickly to the door and out into the hallway. As the door clicked shut behind her, he bowed his head into his hands.

'_I have failed her.'_

Outside, Rogue walked quickly down the corridor, gloved hands twisting in front of her. The truth was, she had felt something like that before, in a place she didn't want to ever have to remember. _'It's over, it's over!' _she repeated to herself, _'he can't get me anymore, Ah'm safe now, Ah'm safe…'_

Trask was in prison, there was no way he could get her from there, no way he could do what had been done on the slabs when he had captured her. If he was capable of that…how could they ever hope to stop him?

###

The lab was deep underground, protected from attack and detection, as the last one had been, by metres of earth. This one was even larger, however, the caverns and corridors making the ground into a honeycomb, supported by dull, cold metal and lit by stark white light. In one small, almost painfully sterile room, a cold metal bed held a single figure. At first glance, she appeared to be only in a deep, deep sleep, but the skin was a little too pale, the cheeks and eyes too sunken, the blonde hair too lifeless.

She was surrounded, not by loving family and friends, but by machines, giving and recording her life. One beeped slowly and steadily as it measured her heartbeat, another pumped the nutrients and water she needed directly into her bloodstream, yet another removed the waste materials. All around her was the hum and beep of activity and electricity.

Only one machine was as quiet and silent as she was, only one organ was inactive above primal receptors. The brain activity monitor stood still and silent.

Oblivious to all, Carol Danvers slept on.

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Ok, tell me what you think with a REVIEW!!! :D

Whoever it was that warned me against using Carol, you made a very good point, but I'm being careful, promise!

There's gonna be lots to this story and I'm gonna give you clues and stuff to what's going on, so don't worry if you don't understand something, it'll probably be explained later on.

Vagabond


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